Respirator.



n. K. H. SCHUMANN.

RESPIRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.8, 19x3.

1,222,683., Patented Apr. 17, 191?. 1%: j;

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0. K. H. SCHiJ MANN.

RESPIRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED macs, 1913.

Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- DE'I'LEF KARL HEINRICH SCI-I'U'MANN, F HAMBURG, GERMANY.

RESPIRATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1?, 191?.

Application filed December 8, 1913. Serial No. 805,347.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DnrLEr KARL HEIN- RICH SoHiiMANN, a subject of the King of Prussia, residing at 85 Rodingsmarkt, Hamburg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Respirators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a self-contained, preferably portable, respirator, which operates on the regeneration principle and serves, for example, to provide breathing air, that is to say, purify the used air for firemen 01:

rescue parties, in rooms which are filled with injurious ases. According to the invention, the car on dioxid and a part of the hydrogen, chemical means from the exhaled air and the latter, after the addition of new oxygen, is again returned to the person employing the apparatus. A closed cycle is maintained and none of the surrounding atmosphere is admitted into the system.

In such devices the parts which serve for regeneration must be changed from time to time, as the impurities from the breathed air accumulate in time and the chemicals take up a great deal of moisture which renders their renewal necessary. In order to render it possible in portable respirators to exchange at the place of action, the regenerating devices which serve for collecting the injurious elements contained in the exhaled air, it has been proposed to form the mouths of the containers which hold the chemicals so that when they are inserted in the air duct, check valves disposed in the duct are automatically opened by the action of abutments, while when the containers are removed the valves automatically close.

The arrangement has several disadvantages. In the first place, the insertion and removal of the regenerating devices and the pressing 30f the container mouths onto the tightening flanges of the ducts takes place under a double lever action which requires a special lock for safety in order to avoid the loosening and leaking of the joints.

The most essential disadvantage of the known arrangement, however, is that during the removal of the regenerating device, the air circulation is interrupted, which causes interruptions in the respiration ducts which render breathing very difiicult, and in a short time, impossible;

According to the present invention, the valve members etween whi h the exchangewhich is exhaled is removed by able container is arranged, are constructed n the form of a cap nut which is formed mto a valve, such that when the nut is screwed onto the container mouth, the ducts are opened and vice versa when the connection is loosened they are automatically closed.

Therefore the connections can be made in the simplest manner without requiring a special lock device.

In order to avoid the occurrence of undue mner pressures when the regenerator contalners are exchanged, the check valves may be formed as safety valves, so that at a certain pressure they establish a connection with the outside atmosphere.

The valves are advantageously constructed in the general form of threaded caps which connect up the passage ways when they are screwed down on the air pipe connections (that is, in introducing the regenerating device into the apparatus) and in terrupt the air pipe connections when they are unscrewed.

In order, furthermore, tomaintain a circulation of the breathing air while exchanging the used up purifying device for a new one, inside of the room filled with noxious gases, one or more of the valves are constructed as double seat valves and in the act of disconnecting the mouth of the purifying device, a by-pass is simultaneously established through which the breathing gases can pass around the purifying device. When the normal communication is restablished then inversely the branch conduit or by-pass is again out out.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 shows a general diagrammatic view of the complete apparatus, and

Fig. 2 shows in enlarged scale the novel features.

The breathing mask 1 is connected by two tubes 2 and 3 with the air tank 4, which consists of two chambers separated from each other by a partition wall 5. To the right hand chamber of tank 5 there is connected a pipe 6 which leads to the purifying device 7 and further through a cooler 8 back to the left hand chamber of the tank 4. To the pipe 6, a branch tube 9 is connected near the purifying device 7 which branch tube 9 is connected through a safety-valve 10 and a reducing valve 11 with an oxygen tank 12. The oxygen tank is provided in usual manner with a manometer 13. Be tween the conduits 6 and 9, a connection let is provided which lies in the axis of the vessel 7 The connecting of the vessel with the main air pipe is accomplished by means of removable screw threaded unions which at the same time serve as valves. Such a union may comprise, for example, a cylindrical chamber 15, the cover 16 of which is slipped over the tubular end 17. The side wall of the cover 16 is provided with perforations and its bottom 19 operates in conjunction with the mouth of the cylindrical chamber 15, which is constructed in the form of a valve seat. For connecting the cylindrical chamber 15 with the container 7 a screw flange 20 formed on the cover 16 cooperates with a correspondingly formed mouth piece 21 on the container.

The valve plate 19 carries a spindle 22 which extends into the interior of the tubular chamber 15 and upon it is fastened a transverse plate or lug 23. A spring 2 1 surrounds the valve stem 22 and is compressed between the plate 23 and a perforated disk 25 fastened in the tube and through which the stem 22 passes. This spring is so arranged that it tends to close the valve or hold it closed.

The upper valve, in the embodiment of i the invention herein shown, is constructed in the form of a double valve and the appertaining valve stem 22 carries in addition a plate 26, which operates upon the tubular chamber 15 and seats on the top thereof which is suitably formed to serve as a valve seat.

In the open position of the valves, the connection between the purifying chamber 7 and the pipe 6 is maintained by means of the perforations 18. In screwing up the unions on the mouth pieces 21, the plates 19 are lifted off their seats against the pressure of springs 24 and the valves thereby opened. At the same time, the plate 26 of the upper valve seats on the valve seat 27, so that an alternate opening and closing of the passage way affected by this double valve is accomplished.

The operation of the entire device is as follows:

When the purifying device is to be replaced, the two screw threaded caps are loosened and finally assume the position shown for the upper cap in the drawing. In this position communication of the air pipe 6 with the outside air is prevented, even when the purifying device is removed,

.and a direct connection between the oxygen tank and the air pipe 6 (with the purifying device eliminated) is at the same time produced by the opening of the valve 26, 27 Whereas the flow of the breathing gases previously took place in the direction of the arrow A, this current now, after the cut out is effected by loosening the lower screw cap, takes place in the direction of the arrow B. A circulation of the breathing gases occurs therefore in spite of the removal of the purifying device and at the same time it is made possible to provide against excessive inside pressure, as excessive pressure would lift the valve plates 19 off their seats against the pressure of spring 24. In introducing a new purifying chamber, the valves are opened by screwing on the threaded caps and the passage of gases through the purifying device again takes place through the chambers 15 of the valves. As the valve 26, 27 is simultaneously closed, the fresh oxygen is forced to flow in the direction of the arrow A and to mix with the breathed gas before it is passed through the purifying device.

I claim:

1. A respirator of the character described, comprising in combination a regenerator having inlet and outlet mouths, conduits leading to and from said regenerator, cap

' and outlet mouths, and spring pressed valve members associated with said cap nuts for closing said conduits when in one position and adapted to open said conduits when in another position.

2. A respirator of the character described comprising in combination a regenerator having inlet and outlet mouths, conduits leading to and from said regenerator, cap nuts longitudinally movableon the ends of said conduits for connection with said inlet and outlet mouths, and valve members associated with said cap nuts, said cap nuts being constructed as valve members and also as safety valve members and having operating springs for holding them seated against the ends of the said conduits against a limited interior pressure, and adapted to open said conduits when in another position.

3. A respirator of the character described, comprising in combination an air pipe, a removable purifying device, an oxygen supply tank, a pipe normally connecting said tank with said air pipe, a by-pass, and connecting means for said purifying device having means for properly connecting said oxygen tank through said bypass and exl eluding outside air when the purifying de- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. C. 

